Bottle corking machine



May 11, 1937. H. G. MOORE 2,080,393

BOTTLE CORKING MACHINE Filed Oct. 6, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 4144517078, fla D700 re,-

May 11, 1937. H. e. MOO RE 2,080,393

BOTTLE CORKING MACHINE Filed Oct. 6, 1936 -2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 11, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application October 6,

11 Claims.

In U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,021,635, Nov. 19, 1935, there is disclosed a stopple unit including a pair of spaced corks or stoppers fixed on a stiff rod for the use set out in that patent in the ageing 5 of liquors in their ultimate containers.

The stopple or cork unit is adapted to be applied to a container, especially a wine bottle, in .a position in which one of the two corks is sealing the mouth of the bottle while the other cork is disposed in axial and concentric relation to the lower flared portion of the neck of the bottle and it is the broad object of this invention to pro vide a simple, rapidly-acting, substantial, practical, sanitary motor-actuated means for the chicient insertion of the cork unit in the desired position in the neck of the bottle.

An object of the invention is to provide an automatic means for first loading a cork contracting receiver with a cork unit, then auto- 20 matically effecting its transfer to a corking guide means, and then automatically ramming the contracted unit from the guide means into given position in a bottle which has been filled to the desired degree with the liquor to be aged in the bottle.

Another object is to provide a corking machine incorporating mechanisms which are pneumatically motivated.

Additionally, an object is to provide a com- 30 bined, coacting means to simultaneously press a cork unit into a contracting asembly and press another unit from a corking guide means into a stationed bottle.

Also, an object is to provide cooperative, alin- 35 able contracting and guiding devices which are concurrently movable from relatively alined positions to positions alined with respective means by which cork units are concurrently pressed, in one case into the contracting device, and in 40 the other case from the guide device to the stationed bottle.

A desideratum of the invention is a cork unit ramming or pushing means for so acting on the unit that each of the spaced corks thereof is individually subjected to pressure for reasons herebelow stated.

The invention consists of certain advance; ments in this art as set forth in the ensuing disclosure and having, with the above, additional 5 objects and advantages as hereinafter developed,

and whose construction, combination and de tails of means, and the mannerof operation will be made manifest in the description of the herewith illustrative embodiment; it being understood that modifications, variations and adaptations 1936, Serial No. 104,240

may be resorted to within the scope, principle and spirit of the invention as it is more directly claimed hereinbelow.

Figure l is a front elevation of the machine. Figure 2 is a detail side view showing the bottle station and applied, elevated bottle. Figure 3 is a sectional detail of the presser rod foot of the contractor, transfer motor. Figure 4 is a sectional detail of the presser foot end of the corking ram' mechanism. Figure 5 is a detail of the swivel mounting for the receiver .and contractor. Figure 6 is a schematic elevation of the motive i fluid control system. Figure 7 is a detail plan of a control lever of the system.

A stopple or corking unit includes and upper, radially contractive cork 6 resting against a disc on a rod-like stem 8 having an upper, threaded end 1, and a spaced, lower cork H fixed on the stem by a screw which clamps the cork against a washer shouldered against the stem end, as set out in Patent 2,021,635, supra.

One of the cork units is shown in Fig. l, as axially alined, by hand or otherwise, with and just below the presser foot iii of a loading rod l6 which is vertically reciprocative in suitable bearings I! provided on an appropriate support here including a panel 2 on which the operative mechanisms are severally mounted.

The push rod I6 is motivated by a pneumatic motor including a cylinder l8 having a piston rod extension l9 provided with a lateral bracket 20 to which the loading rod is attached, preferably adjustably.

Arranged axially below the loading rod i6 is a receiving device into which the positioned unit, 6-H, is pressed by the down stroke of the rod and which provides for the material, radial contraction of the interposed corks of the unit to facilitate the passage thereof into the neck of a bottle disposed at the corking station of the machine; a bottle B being shown on the station elevator pan P.

The contracting device includes a tube 2i of a length greater than that of the cork unit and is slidably mounted in a swivel box 22 having a rearwardly extending stud 23 rocking in a bearing 24 on the support 2; the box being provided with a lateral handle 25 by which the box and its tube 2| may be tilted from the (full line) loading position, Fig. 1, to an oblique (dotted line) position for a purpose later described. The contractor tube has a downwardly converging bore 2| whose upper end is large enough for the ready insertion of the bottom cork i i of the unit for loading purposes.

It is desirable that the contractor tub-e 2i has a suitable degree of axial motion in the box 22 and it therefore has a crown collar Zl seating on a cushion spring 26 interposed on the box 22.

Upon the down stroke of the piston rod lil the unit screw end I will be abutted in a recess l5 of the presser foot 55 of rod 16 so that pressure will be imposed on the stem 8 and thereby to the cork ll while at the same time the lower end of the presser foot i5 will abut the upper cork 5 so that pressure is distributed to each cork fill as it is forced into the converging bore of the contractor tube l. The loading rod 26 is now retracted upward by reverse motivation of the piston rod 29.

The next operation is to press down on the box lever 25 to tilt the load tube 2i until it alines axially with an inclined, pneumatic motor means including a cylinder 2's fixed on the support 2 and having a piston rod 28 provided with a presser foot 29 end-bored at St to receive and abut the screw end i of the cork unit in the loaded contractor ?l, for the same reasons as set forth as to the presser foot !5.

The box 22 is connected by a link 3i to a device forming a control and guide for a contracted cork unit it receives from the contractor 2| and which is to be forced, while still contracted, into a bottle on the elevator pan P. This guide means includes a corking tube 32 fixed on a suitable swivel, as a box 33, pivotally mounted as by a stud 34 rockably mounted in the support 2, in like manner with stud 23. The link Si is connected by an arm 525 of the box 33 and provides a parallel-link function between the contractor 2i and the corking tube 32.

When the lever 25 is pressed down, Fig. 1, it tilts the loaded contracting tube 2| and the corking tube 32 into alinement with adjacent ends in contiguity so that the cork unit now contracted in the tube 2! may be safely transferred to the cooperative, juxtaposed corking tube 32. The lower end of the tube 2| is externally tapered to seat on the complementally bored upper end of the corking tube 32. As soon as the tubes 2l-32 are in alinement with the transfer, motor rod 28 (obliquely as to the axis of motor l8 and to the loading rod it) the motor 2'5 is energized and its transfer rod is instantly thrust against the cork unit in the contracting tube 2| and its resistance to radial compression of its corks causes the contracting tube to move down on its spring 26 and to engage on and be centered by the tapered seat 32 in the upper end of the tube 32 which is of a length slightly more than that of the stopple unit. The stroke of the transfer rod 28 is surfioient to entirely dislodge the unit 6-H from the contracting tube 2! and force it bodily into the corking tube 32, and leaving the screw end i of the unit stem 8 projecting above the upper of the tube 32; Fig l.

As soon as the transfer is completed the lever 25 is operated to restore the tube 2| to normal, vertical loading position under the loading rod 5% (now in its upper position ready for the next down or loading stroke), and the connected corking tube is at the same time set upright with the upper end just below and coaxial with a coordinate piston rod 36 of the pneumat'c motor i8 and being united with the top, extension rod 59.

A liquor-charged bottle B is now or has been stationed on the pan P and this is elevated by a suitable means to bring its mouth up against a pad 32 in the lower end of the tube 32. The elevator shown includes a cam lever 38 engaging a cam disc 39 of a post 40 sliding vertically in a bearing 4! and on which the pan P is attached for moving the bottle up to the corking tube 32. This form of cam elevator provides a solid bed to take the down thrust during corking action by the corking or ram rod 36.

The motor I3 is now energized to drive its rod 36 down on the upper cork 6 and against the screw end 1 of the stem 8, this passing into the thrust socket 136* so that pressure is placed on the stem 8 and the cork 5 at the same time.

The corking tube 32 has its bore 32 converged toward the mouth of the bottle B; the lower end of the bore being slightly less than the mouth diameter to facilitate presentation of the corks 6-ll thereat for ready entrance to the bottle neck.

The lower cork ll slides in a compressed state into and along the bottle neck and then escapes contact therewith (Fig. 1, Patent 2,021,635) and the upper cork is pushed to a closing position in the mouth of the bottle and left with the screw end I of the stem 8 projecting from the bottle mouth for a purpose not concerned with the present machine and which is fully disclosed in said patent.

As soon as the cork unit has been thus rammed into the bottle neck the motor is energized to retract the corlnng rod 36 to the upper position, ready for the next operation. I

It will be noticed that by connecting the loading rod iii to the corking, ram rod 36, the motor It! serves in one down stroke to load a unit, under rod 56, into the contractor tube 21, and at the same time to ram a unit from the corking tube 32 into a stationed bottle. On the other hand, motor 27 operates to press a cork unit from the contractor tube 2! to the corking tube 32, and is double-acting in that it is energized to retract the transferring piston part 28.

The motor controls Attention is directed to Fig. 6, where the loading and corking motor cylinder 58 is shown as having an air pipe 50 leading to a self-closing valve 5| (of an appropriate type and a number of like kind is here employed as detailed herebelow). Valve 5i is supplied with compressed air, the preferred pressure medium, by a pipe line 52 from a feeder line F. The operating stem 5d of valve 5% is disposed adjacent to and spaced from an operating member, here a double-throw loading and corking control lever L which is yieldably held in a neutral position, as by a retracting spring 53, or the equivalent.

To load the tube 2! the lever L is depressed (note arrow, Fig. 6) to press the vaive stein back and permit air to flow by pipe 56 to the upper end of the motor $8 with the result that the piston rods 5 9-36 are thrust downward, the function acting at once to load tube 2! and to thrust a cork unit from the corking tube 32 (if charged) into a stationed bottle B.

It is desirable to exhaust the lower end of motor l8 as its upper end is energized by motive fluid. Therefore the down thrust control lever L engages the stem 5% of a self-closing exhaust valve Reverse action of the loading and corking motor i8 is effected by upward movement of the control lever L so that it will engage the stem 56 of an air supply valve having a line 51 to the feeder F, whereby to let pressure fluid at 55 below the piston of the motor l8. Exhaust of air from above the upwardly retracting piston of this motor is provided by a pipe line 58, from line 53 (whose valve 5! has self-closed), to a similar, self-closing exhaust valve 59, the stem 59 of which has been repressed by the same up stroke of lever L which opened air pressure valve 56. The outlet of exhaust valve 59 is choked at 59 so that the recoil of the piston parts of the motor ill will be retarded and silenced.

As soon as the retracting function of the motor i8 is initiated by up stroke of the lever L this is freed to return to neutral between opposite valve stems Sil -55 and opposite stems 54 -59.

The lever L is shown in plan, Fig. 7, as having lateral limbs L -L to lie between relative valve stems, Fig. 6, and is pivotally supported at its rear end.

An identical air supply and exhaust system and control, by lever C, is provided with respect to the operation of the double-acting motor 21, whose function is to compress and transfer the cork unit 5-H, loaded into the tube 2|, over to the corking tube 32 at the moment these are tilted into oblique and alining coordination with their interseating ends in juxtaposition. It is thought that the description of the motive fluid flow system, given above, will suffice for that of the motor 2?, since they are alike.

The valve systems are preferably mounted directly on the back of the support 2 so that the handles of the levers L and C are conveniently disposed at the front of the machine and may play in slots 5i--62 in panel or support 2.

It will be seen that operation of the machine is facilitated by coordinating the action of the control levers L and C with the desired direction of stroke of the rods of the motor pistons. That is, if it is intended to drive a motor piston rod downward the respective control lever, as L, is depressed in correspondence with the motor stroke, and if it is intended to retract one of the motor piston rods by vertical movement, then the respective control lever of the motor is pressed upward.

What is claimed is:

l. A bottle corking machine having, in combination, a dual tiltable cork unit receiving and contracting device, a loader for pressing a cork thereinto, means for pressing the unit through said device to contract the unit, a tiltable unit guide means operatively connected to the contracting device to be aligned therewith for receiving the contracted unit, and means for ramming the contracted unit from the guide into the neck of a bottle stationed thereat.

2. A bottle corking machine having, in combination, a cork unit receiver and contractor, a power operated loader for the receiver, power operated means for pressing the unit through the receiver for contractive reaction thereby, a corking device movable into alinement with the re ceiver, to receive the contracted unit, and power operated means for ramming the contracted unit from said device into the neck of a bottle neck thereat.

3. A machine as set forth in claim 2, and in which the receiver and said device are operatively connected and are axially alinable.

4. A machine as set forth in claim 2, and in which the receiver and the said device are connected for concurrent tilting movement and adapted to be first relatively alined for transfer of the contracted unit, and alined, respectively, with the loader and the ramming means.

5. A bottle corking machine having, in combination, a cork unit contracting device, a power loader for pressing said unit into said device, a power means including a pressure part, a corking device, means for alining said device and said presser part whereby the latter may press the unit through the contracting device and to force it into the corking device; said alining means operative to aline the corking device with a bottle neck on a loading station thereat, and power operative means for ramming the contracted cork from the corking device into the bottle neck.

6. A machine as set forth in claim 5, said power loader and power corker ram means being connected to operate as one agent.

'7. A bottle corking machine having, in combination, a cork unit guide device and a bottle station thereat, a cork contracting member, a loader for pressing a cork into said member, means for forcing the cork unit through the said member for contractive reaction therein and into the guide device while contracted, and means for advancing the contracted unit from the guide device into a bottle thereat; all said means being automatic and including a separate power device for the contracting means and the advancing means, and control means for said power means.

8. A bottle corking machine having, in combination, a loading presser, a tiltable cork unit contracting device, a unit transfer motor having a ram means to tilt said device from the loader to the motor ram and back again, a unit corking guide alineable with said contracting device in one position thereof to receive a contracted unit therefrom, and a motor driven part for ramming a contracted unit from the guide into a bottle stationed thereat; said means operatively connecting said device and said guide.

9. A tiltable cork unit contracting device, a unit loader for said device, a contractor rod, a tiltable unit guide tube operatively connected to the said device for relative axial alinement and telescopic engagement with one end thereof, said rod operative to press a cork unit through said contracting device and into the tube when alined therewith, and means for ramming the contracted unit from the tube into a bottle neck thereat.

10. A tiltable cork unit contractor, a unit loader therefor, a power reciprocated rod cooperative with the said contractor, a tiltable corking device connected to the contractor for concurrent tilting action for respective alinement, a power ram means cooperative with the corking device, and means for tilting the contractor into alinement with said rod and to bring said corking device and said contractor into alinement whereby to receive the unit as it is transferred by action of the rod, and for then alining the charged corking device with the power ram for thrusting the contracted unit into a bottle neck thereat.

11. A machine as set forth in claim 10; and the contractor being yieldably mounted and having guided end to end engagement with the alined corking device.

HARRY G. MOORE. 

